


Nihilism & The 21st-Century Girl

by redbrunja



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-08
Updated: 2013-04-08
Packaged: 2017-12-07 21:02:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/753044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redbrunja/pseuds/redbrunja
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve never stops being surprised at how some people are willing to hurt innocents. Darcy never starts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nihilism & The 21st-Century Girl

Darcy was sitting cross-legged on top of the conference table, her suit jacket slung over a nearby chair, the table-top covered with a fan of surveillance reports, reports, photos, maps, situational write-ups, and cost-benefit statements.  
  
She was writing a precise on a minor arms dealer based in Prague; it was half a test for Darcy and half a pre-mission preparation session, or at least that’s how she’d described it as she dressed the morning. Steve had shown up at her office to drop off a cup of coffee for her, steal a few kisses, and then glanced over one of the more detailed narratives.  
  
Now he was pacing back and forth in front of the table, grinding his teeth so hard that he could feel the bones of his jaw creak.  
  
Darcy pulled her earbuds out of her ears, looked at him curiously. “What’s wrong?” she asked.  
  
Steve paused, surprised she even had to ask. He gestured to the table.  
  
“This,” he said, “I hate people like this. People who hurt others just because they can.”  
  
Darcy blinked at him for a moment, looked down at the papers like she’d forgotten what she was working on.  
  
“Don’t this… doesn’t this bother you?” he asked.  
  
She shrugged.  
  
She. Just. Shrugged.  
  
Her mouth twisted wryly and then she went, “Well, I mean, it’s not really a surprise. Breaking news! Thuggish gun-runner buys his sex-toys from the hardware store! Likes underage whores! It would be noteworthy if he  _wasn’t_  an abusive fuck.” She shrugged again and put her earbuds back in, her thumb flickering across the face of her iPod.  
  
Steve snapped his mouth shut, watched Darcy continue to work with a vaguely apathetic look on her face. His tongue felt thick in his mouth, his stomach roiling with anger.  
  
He didn’t slam the door when he exited but his fingers left indentations in the soft metal of the door handle.


End file.
